


kyuline | i'm home

by plincess_cho (ai_hao)



Category: DBSK | Tohoshinki | TVfXQ | TVXQ, SHINee, Super Junior
Genre: ChangKyu - Freeform, Fluff, Gen, Kyuline, also subtle, changkyu as minho's dads per usual, enlistment bc of course, ish?, loves of my life, non-au, or not so subtle
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-04-03
Updated: 2019-04-03
Packaged: 2020-01-01 08:11:05
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,924
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/18332084
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/ai_hao/pseuds/plincess_cho
Summary: Minho's two favorite hyungs cook him dinner before he enlists.





	kyuline | i'm home

**Author's Note:**

> Title inspired by Minho's [SM Station song ♡](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2EVu6tVZUgc)

The night before Choi Minho enlists, he sits at the counter in Changmin’s kitchen feeling unbelievably warm. The last few weeks have been filled with beautiful memories: a round of successful fan meetings, his first recorded solo, cheers from the company ensuring they’ll have big plans waiting for him upon his return, and more farewell wishes than he can count. He had spent almost every night the past week being loved on by his colleagues, his friends, and those he’d come to call brothers.

Leeteuk and Yunho had taken him for dinner first, treating him to their favorite restaurant after a company meeting. They’d both given him loads of advice about enlistment, just like Changmin had warned him they would. It had been a lot, and there had been a moment where Minho had regretted not bringing a pad of paper to take notes. But they had meant well and had promised to write before sending him back home only a little bit drunk.

Donghae and Hyukjae had been next, dragging him and Junmyeon out to some ramyeon shop on the other side of town. The owners clearly knew them not from their worldwide fame but from their frequent patronage, and they hadn’t even asked the two what they’d like to eat. Instead, the owners had simply brought two steaming bowls and set them down on the table, smiling all the way.

It had been fun to catch up with them: they’d been slammed with preparations for their concerts coming up that weekend, and Minho had relished the chance just to sit and chat for a bit. They’d also given him and Junmyeon advice, somewhat less intensely than the leaders the night before. Somehow, Minho and Junmyeon had managed to get back to their respective apartments with only mild hangovers the next day. A miracle.

Taemin had been next, and that one had been the hardest. He’d gone over to Taemin’s apartment, and they’d ordered delivery, just like they had so many times back in the dorms. They’d worked their way through a fair amount of the plastic containers before Taemin had asked:

_“Are you scared?”_

Minho had stopped eating to consider the question. Was he scared? After all that they’d been through over the past eleven years, this just seemed like one more thing to conquer. But deep down inside, he had to admit the truth.

_“Kind of.”_

_“The hyungs were scared too,”_ Taemin had remarked, fishing out a chicken leg from one of the containers. _“But they’ve done well, and so will you.”_

It had been encouraging, especially coming from their youngest. They all had watched him grow from a scared little middle schooler to a confident and mature superstar, bent on pushing his own boundaries as an artist. A few years back, the company would have never let him stay behind without the others, but now, none of them had been worried about leaving Taemin on his own.

 _“Oh speaking of,”_ he’d said, before running back to his room. He’d returned with several envelopes and thrust them at Minho. _“From Jinki and Kibum. Since they couldn’t be here for your enlistment.”_

Minho had been moved to the point of tears by the mere sight of the letters and had tucked them safely into his bag to read later. He’d only heard from them very briefly in the time that they’d been away, and the letters had brought him more comfort than he could have imagined.

They’d finished their dinner, hugged goodnight, and promised to see each other on the actual enlistment date.

He’s taking Minho tomorrow, [along with the rest of Kyuline](https://twitter.com/plincess_cho/status/1117758369245405184). By now, Super Junior is old hat at this: they’ve sent more members to the military than are even members in SHINee. Minho chuckles at the thought for a moment but sobers up. They really did this enlistment thing for _nine years_ , and thanks to the new military laws, he and his group will only have to endure four.

 _“I’ve been in the army for forever,”_ Kyuhyun had said when he’d met up with him and Changmin earlier. They’d started at Kyuhyun’s parents’ house with his mother and father fussing over Minho like he was their own son. In some ways, he was, he’d supposed. He’d spent more nights over at their house than at most of his friends’ places. They’d both hugged him close before sending him off with well wishes and promises to write.

They’d arrived at Changmin’s after stopping at the supermarket on the way to collect the necessary ingredients that are now being washed, chopped, and measured. The hyungs had promised to cook for him, and there had been no way he was going to turn them down. They’d both gotten into cooking during their own enlistments, and Minho had often joked about when the cooking bug would hit him.

It’s comforting sitting at Changmin’s counter, watching two of his favorite people bustling around the kitchen. It reminds him of sitting in the kitchen as a child, watching his mother prepare the night’s meal. The warmth in his chest spreads, and he basks in the beauty of it all while patiently waiting for dinner to be served. He had offered to help, but Changmin had informed him in no uncertain terms that he would only be a bother in the kitchen. Instead, he now tasks Minho with setting up the portable grill on the dining table.

Kyuhyun and Changmin carry over everything necessary for [ budae jjigae ](https://www.maangchi.com/recipe/budae-jjigae), and Kyuhyun makes a joke about making army base stew before he goes into the military. “Maybe they’ll have a different stew for the marines,” he says with a grin. “To make you heartier, or something.” But then his voice softens, “But you’re already the bravest person I know.”

“Maybe you and Changmin can come with me and cook for me,” Minho says with a chuckle.

“There’s no way in hell,” Changmin informs him in no uncertain terms. He turns on the grill and sets a pan on top before adding in all of the ingredients.

“Not even for your favorite dongsaeng?” Minho asks, blinking his eyes dramatically.

“Not even for you,” Changmin replies. “I didn’t go with Yunho for a reason.”

They all laugh at Yunho’s expense and find their seats around the table, waiting for the stew to cook. Kyuhyun and Changmin sit across from him, taking turns to stir the stew every so often to ensure everything is cooking through. They decline to talk about their own enlistments: they’d already told him more than enough and besides, the older hyungs had given him enough advice to last a lifetime. Instead, Minho listens as the two grow sentimental, wondering where the time has gone.

“I can’t believe you’re old enough to enlist,” Kyuhyun says.

“You sound like my grandparents,” Minho replies. “When I told them I’d be joining the marines, my grandmother asked if I was even old enough to drive.”

“Are you?” Changmin asks, a smirk playing on his lips.

Minho just rolls his eyes. This, more than anything, is what he’ll miss when he’s enlisted. There is something about dinners with the two of them that centers him when it feels like the entire world is spinning crazily around him. There had been a lot of seniors when he’d debuted who had promised to take care of him, giving him their numbers and telling him to call if he needed anything.

But Kyuhyun had been different. “Just come over if you need something,” he’d said. “Someone will always be there for you.” And someone always had been. He’d celebrated so many successes and mourned so many losses in the apartment complex both Kyuhyun and Changmin had called home. In some ways, the couches in their apartments seem more like home than his own bed in his apartment.

It had been Changmin who had first invited him to their alcoholic game nights, and while Minho had never cared much for alcohol, [ he always treasured the conversations ](https://twitter.com/Enxrima/status/1112003668042084352) that happened on those nights. He had learned far more about being an idol, about being an artist, and about being a man on those nights with Kyuhyun and Changmin than he had in all his years as a trainee, preparing to debut with the four guys who would become a closer family than he had ever known.

“Are you going to cry when I leave?” Minho asks.

Changmin and Kyuhyun snort, both trying to feign outrage. “If I recall correctly, _you_ were the one crying when I left,” Changmin says.

“Me?!” Minho exclaims. “ _Kyuhyun_ was the one who didn’t even want to appear in front of the cameras because his eyes were so red!”

“I had allergies!” Kyuhyun protests, but they all know the truth. Kyuhyun had moped around all day, while Changmin had been uncharacteristically chipper. (“If I try to be serious, I’ll cry, and I refuse to have that be everyone’s final memory of me before I go off to war,” he’d informed them when asked.) Kyuhyun had been Changmin’s designated chaperone for the drive to the training camp, and when he’d asked him about it later, Kyuhyun had confessed that he’d sniffled the entire drive there and back.

Changmin leaving had hit both of them hard, and Minho had been left to pick up the pieces. He’d done an admirable job, and here they are almost back home together right before he’s about to leave. Fate is cruel, but at least they’ll have each other’s shoulders to cry on.

They talk and laugh until the soup has burned down to the dregs, and Minho decides he should head home before they uncork another bottle of wine. The last thing he wants to be tomorrow is hungover, and he doesn’t want to spend his last night as a free man passed out on [ Changmin’s bathroom floor. ](https://twitter.com/MoonsLounge/status/1079270739407036416) He stands up, and the hyungs stand as well. They walk him out to the front door and hug him one at a time.

“We’ll be cheering for you,” Kyuhyun says. “Don’t forget about us when you become a super soldier.”

“Never,” Minho replies, reaching for Changmin.

“And don’t try to stay in the military longer either,” Changmin admonishes. “We’ll all be waiting for you here.”

“Does that make you guys my [ rubber shoes ](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gomsin)?” Minho asks. He tries to sound cheeky and brave, but his voice wavers, betraying him.

Changmin pulls Kyuhyun in so the two of them have Minho sandwiched between them, just like how his parents used to hug him when he was younger. Minho feels the tears start to well as he feels Kyuhyun rest his chin on his shoulder. “We’re always going to wait for you,” he says softly. “Life won’t be the same without you.”

After a few long minutes of their warm embrace, the hyungs finally pull apart and let him put on his jacket and shoes. They won’t be sending him off tomorrow: Kyuhyun’s still in military isolation, and Changmin doesn’t want to add to the fuss. They stand in the doorway as he walks down the hallway, waving goodbye.

“What are we going to do with that kid?” he hears Kyuhyun ask Changmin.

“I guess we’re going to have to keep him forever.”

Minho feels his cheeks warm and turns to look back at them one last time. He gives them a smile as the tears spill out of his eyes and onto his cheeks. He’s sad to leave, but he finds comfort knowing that he’ll always be able to come back _home_.

**Author's Note:**

> Comments are love ♡ 
> 
> Recipe is from [Maangchi.](https://www.maangchi.com/recipe/budae-jjigae)
> 
> You can find more kyuline fics [here](https://archiveofourown.org/works?utf8=%E2%9C%93&commit=Sort+and+Filter&work_search%5Bsort_column%5D=revised_at&include_work_search%5Bfandom_ids%5D%5B%5D=32663&work_search%5Bother_tag_names%5D=&work_search%5Bexcluded_tag_names%5D=&work_search%5Bcrossover%5D=&work_search%5Bcomplete%5D=&work_search%5Bwords_from%5D=&work_search%5Bwords_to%5D=&work_search%5Bdate_from%5D=&work_search%5Bdate_to%5D=&work_search%5Bquery%5D=&work_search%5Blanguage_id%5D=&user_id=ai_hao)!
> 
> [twitter](twitter.com/plincess_cho) / [tumblr](plincess-cho.tumblr.com)


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